It’s Hot

Somehow, my coverage of the 49ers on this blog became a discussion thread yesterday, and it’s interesting in light of author Buzz Bissinger’s comments on HBO that blogs are “bull (bleep).” Since then, Bissinger has backtracked, but it prompted an interesting article on the topic. I be interested in any comments about Adam Reilly’s story.

Melding news and opinion is always a challenge and I admit there are times, I handle it clumsily. I’ve been criticized for opining that wide receiver Arnaz Battle’s demotion to a third-receiver role might have played a part in his decision to stay away from the last three weeks of voluntary OTA’s. Battle was quoted as saying that his reasons for missing the OTA’s was personal, and who knows what that could entail.

Yesterday, Nofear wanted sources for comments I made about the Yorks rejecting the 1997 stadium plan after a $100 million bond was approved by San Francisco voters. I said the Yorks rejected the deal as part of a vehement anti-Eddie DeBartolo campaign. I contacted a source who was close to the situation at the time, and he said the Yorks considered anything touched by Eddie to be poisonous. Not surprising since Eddie and sister Denise DeBartolo York slammed each other with lawsuits before finally agreeing on dividing their assets, including the 49ers, civilly.

But other factors were also involved. Eddie’s nefarious involvement in a Louisiana riverboat casino license scam was revealed six months after the passage of the bond. The revelation slowed the stadium momentum, and so did the York’s assertion that revenues from the mall attached to the stadium wouldn’t be enough to pay off the bond. Then came a frustrating series of slow-downs and tire-kicking by the Yorks about the stadium deal in San Francisco, which ultimately resulted in the Yorks pulling out of San Francisco entirely. Now, the 49ers are further away from building a stadium than they were 11 years ago this month when the stadium measure passed.

As far as sources for the 49ers losing untold millions, just look at the example of the Redskins and FedEx Field in Thursday’s post. The Redskins built a 75,000-seat stadium with three levels of luxury boxes, exactly what the 49ers wanted to build.

Can we get back to football now? Man, it’s hot. Over here in the 510 it’s still about 90 degrees at 7 p.m. Maybe that’s why it’s taken me hours to write this blog. But hey, can we get back to football?

One slender piece of news: The 49ers expect to hear from former Raiders tackle Barry Simms in the next week after his recent world tour of NFL teams. I’m going to go stick my head in the freezer now and kick myself for not installing an air conditioner when I replaced the furnace in the house two years ago. Cheers.